Green House

I am happy to support this little "company". As I often say, I very strongly believe in and practice making a positive change in our world by offering earth-friendly products, and by supporting other families who are nurturing their children in a peaceful way. Please click on the banner above to visit.

Attraction Parenting

What Is "Attraction Parenting"? http://www.enjoyparenting.com/attraction-parenting Attraction Parenting is based on a simple premise: Mother Nature intended parenting to be FUN! Our experience of *pleasure* is nature's way of guiding us toward choices that support the survival, growth, and evolution of humankind, both physically and spiritually. Although many aspects of our culture tend to confuse our instincts, our deeper nature is to be *attracted* to that which is good for us and our children. Obviously nature uses *physical* pleasure to make procreation attractive, but there are subtler forms of pleasure that nature has harnessed as well. In parenting, the two most important attractors are the pleasure of *unconditional love* and the pleasure of *authentic power*. Unfortunately our culture distorts our understanding of love and power. We're led to believe that they're scarce resources — that we must *earn* love and *fight* for power. In the practice of Attraction Parenting, we identify and release those distortions and others, and we acquire skills and perspectives that allow us to harness the power of attraction according to nature's design: following our pleasure through parenthood. We understand that authentic pleasure cannot be gained at the expense of our children; nor does parental self-sacrifice give our children lasting pleasure. Attraction Parenting transforms adversarial parent-child relationships into joyful, loving, creative, empowering *partnerships*. Attraction Parenting integrates the psychological concept of attraction with the metaphysical *Law of Attraction* in a grounded, sensible way. It's a practical, holistic approach that honors the body, mind, emotions, and spirit of every child and parent. You will probably like Attraction Parenting if you like any of these authors' works: - Naomi Aldort (*Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves*) - Jan Hunt (*The Natural Child*) - Alfie Kohn (*Unconditional Parenting*) - Pam Leo (*Connection Parenting*) - Jean Liedloff (*The Continuum Concept*) - Gordon Neufeld (*Hold On to Your Kids*) - Joseph Chilton Pearce (*Magical Child*) - William & Martha Sears (*Attachment Parenting*) And self-help books by authors like... - Esther & Jerry Hicks (*Ask and It Is Given*) - Byron Katie (*Loving What Is*) - Eckhart Tolle (*A New Earth*) Perhaps most important is that Attraction Parenting is an *inside-out approach*. It doesn't tell parents what to do, but it helps parents connect with their authentic *Inner Guidance*. When parents feel connected, centered, and grounded, their children tend to move into a similar state of mind, and this leads to greater emotional stability and fewer difficult behaviors. The power of attraction eliminates the "need" for conventional, control-oriented, fear-based parenting. If you've resorted to coercive parenting tactics out of sheer frustration, the practice of Attraction Parenting will restore your faith in human nature. You will come to know with certainty that children are innately good, and their goodness can be fostered joyfully through unconditional love and creative partnership. Feel free to forward this message to your friends! (Please include this paragraph and everything above.) Copyright (c) 2009 by Scott Noelle

Make a Difference

Perhaps I was having a bad day. Perhaps I was frustrated with the same questions, the same concerns that weigh on the minds of many of us from time to time, having to also weigh on the mind of my seven year old. Perhaps I was tired of him asking the same questions over and over again that I have no answers to. Whatever the reason, when he asked his question this time I launched into a long monoluge, my voice increasing in pitch, about how people try to change things, great efforts are made, hard work is done, backs and hearts fully put into things, and yet sometimes it just doesn't seem to make a difference.

He sat and listened intently, though he's heard it all before from me, he waited for me to finally stop talking (ranting) and take my usual deep sigh, and then he stood up, embraced me, and in a calm and soothing voice said:

"It's all right mama, I will make a difference"

That took my breath away. Made me stop and think.

I have a t-shirt in my drawer which reads, "Be the change you wish to see in the world"... we all try to live our lives with compassion and respect for each other and this wonderous planet we live on, we do the right things...we recycle cans and cardboard (even though no one is buying recyclables as much as they used to...our local recycling center has to pay to have glass picked up), we look into alternative energy for heating our homes and powering our cars, we buy local, or if not then free trade products... but how often to be have the courage of our convictions to stand up and say "I will make a difference"? Not, I will *try* to do something that brings change, but to say it like we mean it, in honesty and pure purpose, I *will* make a difference.

I will never forget that moment, the tone of his voice, the way he hugged me, the wisdom he seemed to possess at this still tender age ... but maybe we all need reminders to be confident enough to make such grand statements.

So I put it on t-shirts and buttons and magnets and coffee cups and postcards over at http://www.cafepress.com/iwill and to be true to the statement, begining February 1st, all of the profits from the shop will be given to a different group or cause randomly choosen by my son each month. I will post what he has choosen from the hat here, and welcome your suggestions.

I will make a difference,

Dawnella

Some CPSIA Exemptions!

A small victory for us home handcrafters of childrens toys, the Consumer Product Safety Commission agreed to exempt natural products such as gems and cotton from mandatory testing for lead, as reported yesterday on Bloomberg news:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a0Xr2Iw1Vi_8&refer=us

There's still work to be done however, please vote for change, Save Small Business From the CPSIA : A Proposal From the handmadetoyalliance.org

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

Barefoot Books' Annual Winter Sale

Barefoot Books' Annual Winter Sale begins Monday December 29th and runs through Monday February 2nd, with savings of up to 80% on selected bestseller titles, limited stock collectibles and even story cds!! Get your shopping lists ready this weekend , and then be sure to visit http://www.BarefootBooksStoryteller.com/ next Monday! Happy Holidays!